Political parties, interest groups and money

Political parties and interest groups are both prominent features of American politics. They differ in key respects. Most obviously parties try to get their candidates elected into office, while interest groups do not have their own candidates and concentrate on influencing whichever party's candidates are in power. Nevertheless, their functions blur at times and even conflict, particularly when it comes to raising the huge sums of money required to fund election campaigns. In this chapter, we will look at parties, interest groups and campaign finance in turn. We will examine the power of parties and interest groups and the extent to which they enhance or undermine democratic government in the United States.